RESIST ATLANTICA:
Atlantica is the 'pet name' of the Atlantic Northeast Economic Region (AINER), cross border trade concept spanning the Maritimes, Newfoundland, southern Quebec and the New England states. Its originator is a right wing think tank called the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, representing much of big business in the Atlantic region. The plan is to develop a transportation conduit to channel Asian goods to the USA now that there are many massive container ships too large to pass through the Panama Canal. The port of Halifax is planned as the drop point for these ships, and the goods will then be transshipped via "truck trains", resulting in more greenhouse gases, highway fatalities as well as superhighway construction through communities, wilderness and farmland.
Another purpose of Atlantica is to increase export of unprocessed resources from Canada to the USA. The offshore oil of the Altantic provinces is particularly attractive. The development of this free trade zone will hamper local provinces in such matters as minimum wage laws, environmental legislation, unionization, public ownership and social program spending.
Beginning with a Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, June 13th, and proceeding through three more days of events the people of Halifax and whoever else may want to come and participate in this resistance will show their opposition to Atlantica and propose alternatives to business centred development. From workshops to demonstrations to Critical Mass bike rides it's all there and more.
To learn more or to find out how you can participate go to http://resist.stopatlantica.org
2 comments:
Not that I support everything Atlantica wants to do, but since you seem to know so well what Atlantic Canada needs for economic development, I'm eager to find out what this is.
Well Molly has to bite at this one:
The news item was merely a report of a protest being held by various groups with UNDOUBTABLY various different ideas of "alternatives" to Altantica. Molly's ideas are very certainly different that those of other participants such as the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and various NGOs.
Of course I NEVER said that I have some "master plan" for development in Atlantic Canada. you merely read that into the post. But, being as you ask I can give a few general principles that, of course, lack details.
The goals of outfits such as Atlantica can basically be boiled down to ONE thing. Increase government subsidies and other give aways under the assumption that such "corporate welfare" will "trickle down" to increase the well being of the average person. This voodoo economics was a dismal failure in the USA and it would be a dismal failure in Atlantic Canada.
Molly's opposition to such corporate welfare that distorts market mechanisms is hardly restricted to Atlantic Canada. It applies everywhere. I don't doubt that at least so far Molly is in total agreement with all the people who oppose Atlantica who have varying ideas about "development" or whether such a thing is even needed.
Perhaps "doing nothing" is a very legitimate conservative response when hordes of beggars in three piece suits show up at your door. Perhaps "economic development" is not an unquestionable "good" if all it means is more tax money funneled to the wealthy and a short lived boom in construction, with social costs to be paid later.
The idea that "economic development" comes without costs is laughable in most of Canada. Every single negotiation with native groups who stand to both benefit AND lose by economic "development" in Canada's north brings up the obvious- that such development doesn't just cost the taxpayer the original handout to the corporations but that the taxpayer continues to pay the costs of the "externalities" that such projects generate.
So...one possible alternative is simply to do nothing. To close the public purse tightly against those who wish to steal from it. But I know that this is not what you want, particularily as you seem to think that "Thou Shalt Develop" was handed down on Mount Sinai. So I'll lay out a few more ideas in later comments.
Molly
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